With Flipsters, Aussie ID'er and law student hit success in just one year

Barely a year old, the Australian company Flipsters is wildly successful and has but a single product: Folding flip-flop shoes for women. Australian law student Ben Lipschitz and industrial designer Rick Munitz teamed up to create a product that women could carry in their purses that would unfold into comfortable footwear, and since launching in October of '09 the response has been tremendous. "We're now stocked in over 120 retailers across Australia, have an active online store and are exporting to a number of countries," says Lipschitz. "We always had the vision of where we wanted to go, but had no idea just how quickly things would happen!"

Munitz spent the first half of '09 perfecting the design, which he realized could not just fold in half if it was to perform as functioning footwear:

The genius behind Flipster's sole saving comfort is the creative way in which they fold. Flipsters unique "triangle" folding pattern has been tried and tested to work with the motion of your natural walk. Thanks to these angles, Flipsters will only fold when you want them to - and remain super sturdy while you're wearing them on your feet.

John Maeda of MIT's Media Lab--well known for his design+math wizardry--has joined forces with Reebok in a limited production run of the Timetanium sneaker. Each of only 100 pairs feature original graphics by Maeda on the exterior with his hand-written notes gracing the interior lining. Timetaniums will be available worldwide...

To us mainlanders New Zealand has always looked like paradise, and now it seems even their ID students have more fun. For the final part of their industrial design technology paper, students at Massey University's School of Design got to race human-powered watercraft of their own design around the Frank...